Network-based equipment, information and services need to be protected from unintended or unauthorized access, change or destruction, and is of growing importance in line with the increasing reliance on online computer systems of most societies worldwide. Hence, authenticating the identity of an individual user to reduce the risk of unauthorized access to such equipment is critical for system security. Various techniques for authenticating the identity of the user generally include requiring the presentation of a first factor defined by something the user knows (e.g., a password, a personal identification number (PIN), etc.) in combination with at least one other factor, such as something the user has (e.g., a smart card, a hardware or software token, etc.) and/or something the user is (e.g., a biometric characteristic).
As advantageous as such authentication techniques are, however, they are generally made available only to those governmental, medical, scientific, and engineering organizations requiring the highest security protocols and are seldom granted to more conventional commercial users, such as business offices. The availability of such authentication techniques is limited by the desire on the part of the commercial users to keep their operational costs down. Multi-factor credentials are expensive, require end-user training, and require sophisticated support processes. Hardware and software tokens add to additional system costs. Larger deployments also have to factor in the increased costs associated with inventory management, shipment, and replacement of such tokens.
Accordingly, there is a need to authenticate one or more users to operate one or more electrical devices or equipment in a network in a more cost-efficient manner without sacrificing system security.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.
The system and method components have been represented where appropriate by conventional symbols in the drawings, showing only those specific details that are pertinent to understanding the embodiments of the present invention so as not to obscure the disclosure with details that will be readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit of the description herein.